The City of Chachapoyas

The name of this small city comes from the name of the Chachapoyas
people. The word Chachapoyas means Warriors of the Clouds.

The Chachapoyas were Andean people living in the cloud forests of the
Amazon region in
today's
Peru. They were
conquered by the
Incas, but not
completely eliminated or assimilated. During the
Spanish conquest wars,
the conquistadores often had the Chachapoyas on their side against the
Inca warriors.

The city of Chachapoyas is at a height of 2.235 m, which is almost the
same height as
Machu Picchu's.

Over 20.000 people live in Chachapoyas, a city far from the Peruvian
coast, situated in the northwestern part of Peru.

Today, Chachapoyas is the capital of the Peruvian region called
Amazonas.

The city is an important agricultural center due to its sugar cane,
orchid plantations and coffee growing farms.

Kuelap

Kuelap is one of the largest stone structures in South America.

Some will write its name this way: Cuélap - correct in Spanish
language.

The structure is situated on a ridge near the Utcubamba Valley in
northern Peru, close to the city of Chachapoyas.

Kuelap has a length of about 600 m and a width or 110 m.

The Chachapoyas had built Kuelap in order to defend against the Huari
(Wari) people and other potential enemies.

Specialists have determined that the Kuelap complex dates back to the
6th century A.D.

There are daily buses from Chachapoyas to Kuelap. They usually leave
from stations located 2 to 3 blocks away from the Main Square of
Chachapoyas.

Gran Vilaya

Archaeological ruins complex occupying a wide area in the Utcubamba
Valley, west of the Kuelap fortress.

It is estimated that there are approximately 5.000 buildings in the
Gran Vilaya area. Some of them are circular, others rectangular. The
construction material used is mainly limestone.

Motifs representing snakes, condors, pumas and typical chachapoyan zig-zag
patterns can be found on constructions.

The site was discovered by Gene Savoy, an American explorer in 1985.

Gran Vilaya is a pre-Incan Chachapoya creation.

Tajopampa

Archaeological site. Not easy to access, hiking is required.

For ordinary travelers, this is not a primary attraction, as it is a
rather small site consisting of tombs.

Karajia

Funerary site built in the sides of cliffs.

Long hard hike is needed to get there and we don't recommend you and
your friends to try and experiment with the road that leads there.

The site is located north of Kuelap and consists of burial places that
were accommodated in the sides of cliffs.

Local word for such a tomb complex is purunmachu.

Funerary statues are placed at the entrance of the tombs, they overlook
the Utcubamba Valley.

Revash

Revash is a funerary complex in the Luya Province.

The distance from Chachapoyas is around 60 km (37 mi) from Chachapoyas.

Revash is built in the sides of cliffs. It is beautiful to see the
reddish-yellowish structures constructed into a niche inside a cliff. It
looks like the cliff was carved deep in order to accommodate house-like
constructions/carvings. These were the "homes" of the dead.

Leymebamba

Leymebamba is a quiet, friendly town near the Utcubamba River.

The Plaza de Armas is stone-paved with Chachapoyas motifs. There even
is a replica fountain of the Laguna de Los Cóndores (a beautiful nearby
lake between mountains).

The Museo Leymebamba displays more than 200 mummies and burial jewels
and offerings.

This museum was inaugurated in June 2000 and contains ancient
artifacts, mummies from the Chachapoyas area.

Leymebamba is also famous of its local Yaraví
musicians. It is regarded to be a center of Yaraví music.

Gocta Waterfalls (Catarata Gocta)

The height of the Gocta Cataracts is 771 m (2,530 ft). Nevertheless,
Gocta is among the World's tallest waterfalls. Some measurements call it
the 3rd highest, others the 5th, while the lowest ranking it has received
was the 14th place.

The place can be reached by a combination of road vehicle and off-road
hiking from Chachapoyas. Gocta is 25 km (15.5 mi) north from Chachapoyas.

The Lagoon of the Condors (Laguna de Los Cóndores)

93 km (57.8 mi) away from the city of Chachapoyas.

It takes 3 and a half hours to drive there from the city.

Popular hiking place "near" Chachapoyas... It's not that close, but
still, Chachapoyas is the nearest big city to the lagoon.

This place is wonderful! It is like a dream!

If you ever have the time and money when in Chachapoyas, you must visit
the Lagoon of the Condors.

Getting to Chachapoyas

Chachapoyas has its own airport, but very few, rather occasional
flights are operated.

The only regularly operated flight in mid 2010 was to Chiclayo.

There is no way you can get by train to Chachapoyas. There are no
railway lines.

There are direct buses to
Lima,
Chiclayo,
Trujillo and other
cities. There are good roads linking Chachapoyas to other Peruvian cities.

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